Hello all;

I am due to view an '07 Fabia 1 vRS SE this Saturday (29th March) and would much appreciate any suggestions / recommendations and tips as to what to look for.
The car is advertised as having 50k on the clock and to be 'very clean'. It is priced at £4650 .

I have an interest in everything mechanical but in terms of looking for faults/evidence of work I have next to no experience. I'm told to look under the carpet in the boot for any new paint work, and to check the frame joints are bolted and there's no sign of scratching or welding, also the notorious leaky door seals, as for the test drive I'm told to check for excessive smoke from cold startup and for 'pulling' when braking hard.
Other than that I am all ears!
Where should I be looking or checking for rust (If any) ?
What should the residue on the inside of the oil cap look like?
What should the colour of brake fluid be?

Any advice is much appreciated!

Jrjg


 

Seems very cheap... Got a link?

I haven't I'm afraid no it has been taken off of Gumtree.

 

I thought it was cheap too... suspiciously so. Although I can't write it off (not literally speaking) until I have seen it and made sure it is all what the bloke claims it is.

Thanks for replying, I'm new to this Briskoda.

Jrjg

I would get it hpi'd . Gum tree is so dodgy these days I would only buy off here or a decent trader

Good idea!
I'll ask him for it now, are there any online services for HPI checking?
Just that nagging a mechanic friend of mine to sort it (for the third time) isn't ideal.

Quick text check can be helpful, also check on the Dvla website as it shows mot history for the vehicle so you can check that the mileage is legitimate

I need the v5c number though don't I for the DVLA,
Just tried it now but didn't get any further without that number unfortunately.

Are there any websites you would recommend for any other information/history I can gather whilst only having the registration number?

Thanks in advance

 

Jrjg

There is a whole list of things to check, I think you have mentioned a few already.

 

To be honest, if you are not 100% sure what you are looking at take someone along who is. 

 

On another point, see if there is a friendly Briskodian near you who has VCDS and take them along to run a scan

for fault codes.  That is definitely worth some beer tokens.

I'm taking my dad along with me (I wouldn't go on my own as I say I haven't enough experience with cars!)
Could you put me in contact with this person please? It may not be practical to drag them along on the first viewing but I could always ask them for it once I've put a deposit down on it perhaps?

Thanks for the advice

Jrjg

What number is it. Have a look on the stickies at the top of the page and it may have belonged to someone on here.

Do you have a pic at all because theres been one or 2 on here recently that have been discussed. One was a Cat D that was in ebay but not advertised as a Cat D. Cat D is only light damage anyway and perfectly fine as long as the repair is good but wont show on a log book but will show on an HPI check.

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Edited 27 March, 201412 yr by NathanG

HN07 FBV Is the registration number.
I will have a check too, thanks for the suggestion I hadn't thought of that.
It's an SE so the metallic blue, if that helps!
Cat D could just be a minor bump then? I will have a look  on Saturday as I say, under the carpet in the boot for any signs of fresh paint / repairs, and check all of the panels and their angles/ distances to one another.
Hopefully having it HPI checked tomorrow.
Although as a backup - would you recommend any online sites that HPI check for cheap? Can only seem to find ones for £9 or more.

Thanks

Jrjg

The leather seats have a number stamped in them - you can find a list of who owned it up too as long as they are/were a briskoda member at some point.

I think Cat D may affect some insurance companies. A Cat D will affect the value of the car. Have a google. It may well not be a Cat D but if its as cheap as you say do some research before handing over coin.

Also, ive seen a couple of 50k se's about and they command silly money, like £7000+. Be carefull.

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Edited 27 March, 201412 yr by NathanG

I will have a look at which number it is on Saturday, had a look through the 'SE owners' post but didn't see any in the area the car is being sold at.
I am almost expecting there to be some kind of fault for it to be only £4650
Like you say NathanG  I have looked at a lot of SEs and they are usually a lot more than £4.5k with only 50k on the clock, usually £7K + +
I will do a HPI check on it before I buy it for sure, thanks for the recommendations.

For clarification a Cat D is where the cost of repairs after an accident is less than the value of the vehicle.

Cat C is where it's more.

So it's not so simple as a light bump, you want photos of any damage to see what it was.

I always do this.

Effectively if the car is in an accident when it's new it can have quite serious damage and still be Cat D, because when it's newer it's worth far more.

I see, that makes sense I suppose BossFox,
I will ask the seller, and if the HPI check comes up with Cat C or D then i will take extra caution when I inspect the car, wouldn't mind getting the car on the ramps and then a mechanic friend could really have a good rummage around to see what has gone on!

I have had a good read of Cat D and Cat C classification, the differences between ex cetera, I will be sure to ask and check the car when I go on Saturday.
Thanks for the help BossFox

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Posted a similar request for advice recently. Got some very helpful feedback from the briskly community.

The thread's here:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/308968-mk1-fabia-vrs-buying-advice/?fromsearch=1

Thanks Nathan I will let you know how it goes on Saturday

haha turns out I have already been reading that one Maieth! But thanks anyway for linking it , how it your search for a vRS going ?

JRJG

Thanks Nathan I will let you know how it goes on Saturday

haha turns out I have already been reading that one Maieth! But thanks anyway for linking it , how it your search for a vRS going ?

JRJG

Fingers crossed I pick mine up tomorrow

Was meant to be Sunday but my

Loan cleared soon than expected. Very excited!

Re: HPI, if you are seriously shopping for cars the chances are you will view several. We bought 5 AA checks for £25 I think - they were very good. I'd just pay a bundle price as you, or a mate/family etc., will end up needing them at some point!

Re: HPI, if you are seriously shopping for cars the chances are you will view several. We bought 5 AA checks for £25 I think - they were very good. I'd just pay a bundle price as you, or a mate/family etc., will end up needing them at some point!

Got my mechanic friend on it this morning They've obviously got a system at the garage so it's all free, but obviously not ideal when I have to keep on nagging him to do another HPI check, that AA deal sounds quiet good, I didn't realise they didn't 'expire' in that you can use them whenever you want. I will have a look at them for sure. Thanks

JRJG

So me and the father went down to see this vRS SE today,

Looked reasonably clean at first glance, but 'on closer inspection'...

Front offside fog light out (nothing serious) a bit of condensation in the offside headlight (again nothing serious), lifted the bonnet and everything seemed tickety boo until my dad noticed one of the panel seams was apart slightly (again on the offside). Had a test drive, pulled like a raging bull, well impressed, all seemed well, no pulling, no shaking at speed etc.

Asked the seller 'any bumps? Is it cat D?'

Seller replied: "no no no no bumps it's clean'

Got home and hpi'd it -- 'INSURANCE CLASSIFY AS TOTAL LOSS CAT C'

* ooooo , that was a close call *

Lying little ****

So me and the father went down to see this vRS SE today,

Looked reasonably clean at first glance, but 'on closer inspection'...

Front offside fog light out (nothing serious) a bit of condensation in the offside headlight (again nothing serious), lifted the bonnet and everything seemed tickety boo until my dad noticed one of the panel seams was apart slightly (again on the offside). Had a test drive, pulled like a raging bull, well impressed, all seemed well, no pulling, no shaking at speed etc.

Asked the seller 'any bumps? Is it cat D?'

Seller replied: "no no no no bumps it's clean'

Got home and hpi'd it -- 'INSURANCE CLASSIFY AS TOTAL LOSS CAT C'

* ooooo , that was a close call *

Unlucky dude. I did say at the begining and you also knew it, 07 Se on 50k is like £7k+. You had a lucky escape and make a good call getting it hpi'd. If it seems too good to be true it normally is. Have a look on here in the for sale section. There's a couple of awesome cars in there, wish i had the coin for them haha.

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